The mid-afternoon sun was blazing; hot enough to boil a cup of coffee or fry an egg on a flat stone. Tiny, Hank, and Eli rode into the ranch yard covered in dust and sweat, looking more tired than men ought to be
Mary stepped out onto the porch first. “Water your horses, then come sit a spell,” she said. “I’ll fix some lemonade.”
About that time, Jake, Colt, and Thomas came out of the barn, Boone barking a greeting, his tail wagging like it might fly off.
Hank spoke first: “Well, we caught ’em. Sheriff has ’em locked up. They won’t be stealin’ any more cattle. Gideon Pike got his stock back, and he’s demandin’ a hangin’ tomorrow mornin’.”
Jake frowned. “That’s awful quick. Tex wouldn’t go for that. There needs to be a trial, a judge and jury, if we want justice. And, no stolen cow is worth takin’ a man’s life.”
Eli nodded. “That’s what we said. But Gideon’s bringin’ about twenty hands into town tomorrow. He aims to hang those three men himself.”
Tiny shook his head. “That ain’t right… but what can we do?”
Mary came back out with the lemonade. “An eye for an eye means equal justice,” she said. “Killin’ a man for stealin’ a cow ain’t equal justice.”
Colt added, “If Gideon brings that many men into town, Tex may not be able to stop him without bloodshed.”
Hank’s voice had some edge to it. “One of those men told me Pike ain’t paid ’em in more’n two months. Said he refused to pay others too, so they quit and left with nothin. These three aimed to take what was owed ’em in cattle and move on.”
Jake straightened. “That puts a whole new light on things. We ride to town first thing in the mornin’. We stand with Tex; but more, we’ll stand for what’s right.”
The next morning, Gideon Pike rode into town with about twenty men. Waiting for them stood Sheriff Tex, the Roaring Rapids hands, and a few shopkeepers and passersby. “There won’t be a hangin’ today,” Tex said calmly.
Colt spoke up, “Pike, you stole wages from these three men you accuse of stealing. You haven’t paid them in two months or more.”
“That’s a lie!” Pike snapped, his hand droppin’ to the butt of his gun. “I’ll kill you for sayin’ that.”
“Hold on, Pike!” Tex said, voice hard. “You’re mighty quick to kill. There won’t be any killin’ today or tomorrow. We’ll let a judge and jury decide what’s to happen between you and these three men in jail behind me.”
Jake interrupted, “How many of you men have been gettin’ paid regular?” Only two hands went up, the hand of the foreman and the range boss. “Okay, how many of you are owed back wages?” Every hand went up, and then went down as fast as they could bring ’em down, so Pike wouldn’t see.
Tex nodded, “I’ve heard enough!” He looked at Pike. “I’m arrestin’ you for stealin’ wages, and you’ll spend the night in a cell next to the three men you’ve accused of stealin’ 8 head of cattle. Then, tomorrow, we’ll have two trials one for you, and then one for these three men accused of stealin’.”
“You can’t do that!” Pike shouted.
“Oh yes, I can. I’m the sheriff. I’m here to do what seems most just according to the law, and a judge and jury will decide the matter between you and me and you and these three men. That’s justice.”
Silence fell.
Tex continued, “Now, if you want to make bond and not sleep in jail tonight, that’s mighty fine. Your bond will be you going to the bank now. You will pay your men what you owe them. What you don’t have in your account, the bank will cover and take a mortgage on your ranch. This is your bond so you don’t run off and fail to do what’s right. Otherwise, we can go to trial tomorrow and then you can do what’s right and pay these men. Some have waited more than 2 months to be paid, and no jury in Caldwell Crossing will let you get by without doin’ right.”
“You’ll ruin me!” Pike cried.
“Maybe so, but this won’t ruin you as much as you have ruined the lives of these men and others by not payin’ ’em, even driven three of them to take 8 of your steers as wages to quietly move on without a fuss. What did you do? You demanded a posse to arrest these men, then you come here to hang them without a trial. You owe them a lot more than 8 steers are worth.
Colt added, “You never should’ve hired men you wouldn’t pay. You’ve been cheating people for so long, you don’t know right from wrong. If you wanted to hang three men for stealin’ 8 cows, what should we do with you?”
Pike looked around. No one stood with him. Without a word he turned his horse and spurred it into a racing gallop without looking back.
Colt watched him go. “You goin’ after him?”
Tex shook his head. “No. I don’t think we’ll see him again, and those he owed will be paid.”
He turned to the three freed men. “Pike cheated you, stole from you, and you tried to right a wrong, but you did it the wrong way. The right way is goin’ to the sheriff and seeking justice from a judge and jury. I think you learned your lesson. I think we all have. If these Roaring Rapids ranch hands, these shop keepers, and your own hands had not stood by you, there would have been gunplay today and Pike might have hanged you over 8 steers.”
Then he said to all of Gideon’s hands, “Let’s go get your backpay at the bank. If you want to stay around, maybe ask Banker Collins for a job workin’ that ranch until he can find a buyer. He’ll pay you a fair wage and on time.”
That day, justice came without a rope, and justice was served.
Late that afternoon, Jake, Colt and the others rode into the yard. The sun was lower now, and the heat had begun to ease. Mary stood on the porch, waiting.
Jake stepped up and took off his hat. “It’s done,” he said. “No hangin’. Tex set it straight.”
Mary nodded. “And Pike?”
“He lit a shuck. Didn’t have a man left standin’ with him. We’ll not see him again.”
“And his men?”
“They all got their back wages from the bank, even the three who Pike had accused of stealing his cattle. They may even get their jobs back with Banker Collins at the bank holding the mortgage.”
Mary looked out toward the fading light and said, “That was a hard lesson for three men, but everyone saw justice served, and no one was hanged.”
The words settled quiet on the porch. “Out here,” she added, “a man’s got two choices—do right the right way all the time… or make a bigger wrong for themselves by tryin’ to fix the wrong done to them the wrong way.” Jake set his hat back on his head, “That’s worth ponderin’, lessons learned. All but Gideon Pike ended up on the right side of the fence today.”
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